Baku, Azerbaijan, March 14
Trend:
Former Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov was formally charged with six offenses under four articles of the Criminal Code, the investigative department of the Kazakh State Agency for Civil Service and the Fight against Corruption told Interfax agency March 13.
Akhmetov was accused of misappropriation of the property entrusted to him on a large scale (article 176, part 4), taking bribes (article 311) and illegal participation in entrepreneurial activity (article 310). Moreover, he is charged with three offenses upon article 307 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan.
After being formally charged, Akhmetov became an accused person rather than a suspect.
"Suspect Serik Akhmetov's status has been changed," the agency's source said. "Now he is the accused. The Prosecutor's Office of Karaganda region reviewed the files of the criminal case. The prosecutor found the evidence sufficient to charge and bring the case to the court for holding the trial and sentencing."
This criminal case has been investigated for almost five months. According to the investigative bodies, material damage to the state as a result of Akhmetov's illegal actions is more than 1 billion tenge (the current exchange rate - 185.35 / $ 1).
Akhmetov is the former Defense Minister of Kazakhstan. He was prime minister and first deputy prime minister. Earlier, he was the Mayor of Karaganda region. Akhmetov was placed under house arrest on charges of embezzlement of budget funds on a large scale on November 18, 2014.